The invention relates to a portable seed spreader for distribution of bulky and difficult to handle seeds. Such seeds, for example, include native grass seeds as buffalo grass, blue stems, Indian, wild rye and others. Such seeds are desirable for planting in areas to be reclaimed, such as land left barren by strip mining or highway construction; or for purposes of prevention of soil erosion, retention of top soil and the like. These seeds are characteristically bulky, low density and irregular in shape and size. These seeds are prone to stick together. They can have intermingled extraneous matter. In some instances it is desirable to have the seed hulls left intact to furnish nourishment to the planted seed. These characteristics of the bulky seeds render their distribution problematic. Such seeds are prone to clog and stick in the seed feeder mechanism. The seed hulls can be lost or damaged.
It is often desirable to intermix these bulk seeds with a more common granular seed to create a more desirable ground cover. This can include a small legume type seed.
Many of the problems associated with spreading such seeds are overcome by the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,428 issued Jun. 21, 1977 to Truax. That patent discloses a seed drill for distribution of native grass-type seeds. The machine has a large seed hopper for holding the bulky seeds, and a small seed hopper for holding and concurrent distribution of more conventional types of granular seed such as clover and alfalfa. The machine is relatively large and is towed by a tractor. Agitators are located in the large seed bin to agitate the seed and continuously move it toward one or more discharge openings at the bottom of the bin. Picker wheels are located in the discharge openings and pick seed from the bin for discharge to a planting furrow. While useful for planting a large area, the planting of such seeds over a smaller area, or over irregular terrain still requires hand spreading. This is labor intensive and inefficient.